Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Fort Lauderale police were searching neighbohoods looking for Derek W. Cook, 37 of Tamarc, the driver who struck and killed two British businessmen in Fourt Lauderale, FL.

The owner of the car, Ryan LeVin, of Chicago, IL contends that he was not the driving the car when the two men were struck by LeVin's Porsche on Seabreeze Boulevard.

Police have not been able to locate Cook.

Sandra Knutten, a traffic homicide investigator, secured a warrant to take DNA from Cook and match it with evidence found on the Porsche's air bag which deployed during the accident.

LeVin's attorney, Keith Seltzer, says LeVin was not the driver of the car at the time of the accident and that the media has "sensationalized" the crash.

An affidavit, filed in court on Tuesday, describes the moments leading up to and after the crash including the conversation police had with LeVin about 15 minutes after the accident.

According to the affidavit, LeVin and Cook had been together at a local strip club on Federal Highway until about 1:30 in the morning. Shortly after he left the club, LeVin was stopped by police on Sunrise Blvd for a loud exhaust. LeVin was given a warning by the officer who told him that he could get arrested if he didn't get the exhaust fixed.

LeVin who was still on probation from a 2007 incident in whe he ran over a policer officer and led authorities on a high speed chase, became nervous that the could get arrested so he called Cook.

Cook met LeVin and they switched cars. LeVin drove Cook's BMW home.

Police received a call around 2:48 am, that the two men were hit by a car near the Courtyard by Marriott on Seabreeze Blvd . The two men were in town to recruit employees for their company in England.

The Porsche was sited by police at a red light on Southeast 23rd Ave and 17th St. The car had a shattered windshield and the front-end of the car was damaged.

The car was abandoned on a ramp off Interstate 595 where authorities had it towed. Police homicide investigators found what appeared to be human tissue on the left top section of the windshield.

Fort Lauderdale police

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Posted In: Car accidents

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In a recent investigation by the Chicago Tribune, it was revealed that almost 50% of all car seats used is a goverment crash test failed. The results of that test were never published and the companies that made the failed car seats were never notified of the results.

Although the test was originally used to determine car safety ratings and not those of car safety seats, the test revealed that of the 66 infant seats used in the testing, 31 became separated from their base or exceeded injury limits.

A review of safety standards has been ordered by the National Highway Traffice Safety Administration. Several of the car seats used in the test have been recalled by federal regulators. But public health officials believe that it is more important to make sure that the car seat you are using is properly installed.

Most injuries in an accident result from the car seat not being properly secured. If a baby hasn't been secured properly in their car seat or if the seat belts on the car seat haven't been tightened enoug, a child can get thrown around the car. If the car seat itself hasn't been properly secured, the car seat with the child in it, can get thrown from the car. Also, once your child outrgrows their car seat, parents need to make sure that they are using size appropriate seats in the their cars.

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Posted In: Community News

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The owner of a Porsche that ran down two pedestrians in Fort Lauderdale says he was not the driver of the car at the time of the accident.

Ryan LeVin, 34 of Chicago, tol the Sun Sentinel that he wasn't driving the car when it struck and killed two pedestrians along State Road A1A on Wednesday.

LeVin refused to comment further and referred questions to his Keith Seltzer. Seltzer had no statement to make on LeVin's behalf and declined to say whether he's been retained to represent LeVin, who comes from a wealthy Chicago area family.

LeVin has not been named as a suspect in the hit-and-run, nor has anyone else. Craig Elford, 39 and Lenneth Watkinson, 48, both from England, were walking to their beachfront hotel when they were struck and killed.

Continue reading " Chicago man says he's wasn't driving in fatal hit-and-run " »

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Posted In: Pedestrian Accidents

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Despite attempts to increase pedestrian safety on Chicago's streets, pedestrian deaths are on the rise. According to Brian Steele, a Department of Transporation spokesperson, the agency is looking into the reasons behind the increase. Steele believes that in some cases, problems with pavement markings, faulty signage and construction projects maybe partly to blame.

In 2008, 56 pedestrians were killed on Chicago streets, up from 49 fatalities in 2007 and 48 in 2006.

Steele also believes that more people are walkiing. Chicago was named the U.S.'s 4th most walkable large city in 2008 by Walk Score. Still, Steele said, "One fatality is one too many. Fifty-odd pedestrian fatalities is close to an average of one a week, that's far too many. We're committed to this, and the most difficult part of this is changing driver behavior.

An analysis conducted by the RedEye of the data provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation pertaining to pedestrian fatalities, revealed that pedestrian deaths occurred everywhere in the city. There were, however, clusters of fatal crashes at Stony Island Ave., Madison St and Ashland Ave., and along Lake Shore Dr. Although some of these intersections employ safeguards, the problems stil persisted.

Continue reading " Chicago sees increase in pedestrian deaths " »

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Posted In: Community News

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In 2008 all across the country, traffic accident deaths declined. Some states attribute this decline to fewer people driving due to the high cost of fuel.

However, highway patrol chiefs, traffic safety directors and independent experts believe other factors should be taken into consideration.

According to some officials, the "Click It or Ticket" and the "Over the Limit Under Arrest" campaigns and the increased number of violations as a result, may having a cumulative effect in several states.

Pam Fischer, the director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety in New Jersey, where traffic accident deaths numbers dropped to 18% in 2008, believes that drivers are getting the message and police are more visible.

The US Department of Transportation reported that in 2008, 83% of car drivers and passengers wore their seatbelts. This is the highest number ever reported.

Some law enforcement authorities believe that the number of traffic accident deaths fell because of targeted enforcement, more attention being paid to younger drivers and the relationship between state and local police.

Continue reading " Stepped-up patrol efforts help save lives " »

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Posted In: Community News

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